Louver blade

ABSTRACT

A louver blade comprises a blade body and a reinforcing member. The blade body is made of a plastic material, includes a first end portion and a second end portion opposite to the first end portion along a first axis, and is provided with two pivot connecting portions. Each of the pivot connecting portions is disposed on the first axis at a corresponding one of the first and second end portions and is adapted for pivotal connection with a louver frame to ensure accurate alignment when mounting. The reinforcing member is made of a metal material, is embedded in the blade body, and has an H-shaped cross section to enhance the structural strength of the louver blade.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 201220509660.9, filed on Sep. 27, 2012.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a blade, more particularly to a louver blade.

2. Description of the Related Art

A first conventional louver blade (as disclosed in the “Background Art” section and shown in FIG. 2 of Chinese Utility Model Patent No. CN201567934) consists of a blade body made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and a support member made of iron material embedded in the blade body, provided to enhance the structural strength of the louver blade, and provided with two positioning holes at opposite ends thereof. However, when the support member is embedded in the blade body, deviation of the positioning holes from the center of the blade body presents difficulty upon assembling this conventional louver blade onto a louver frame, since the positioning holes of the louver blade cannot be accurately aligned with corresponding positioning members provided on the louver frame.

To overcome the aforesaid drawback, Chinese Utility Model Patent No. CN201567934 discloses a second conventional louver blade that can be accurately aligned and assembled to a louver frame, and that has enhanced structural strength and improved weather resistance. The second conventional louver blade consists of a blade body and a V-shaped reinforcing member embedded in the blade body and enabling the louver blade to maintain a certain structural strength. The blade body is made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) whereas the reinforcing member is made of either iron or aluminum material. Once the reinforcing member and the blade body are joined together, each of two ends of the blade body is bored to form a mounting hole at a center of the blade body for ensuring accurate alignment with a positioning member of a louver frame to facilitate smooth installation of the louver blade.

However, a field test conducted on a group of the second conventional louver blades that are installed onto a louver frame and that are disposed in an open state for a 24-hour period under high temperature with results shown in Table 1 below reveals a significant change in the distance between a bottom of the louver frame and the center of each second conventional louver blade. Therefore, there is still room for improvement regarding the structural strength and weather endurance of the disclosed louver blade.

TABLE 1 Report of a field test on a louver provided with the second conventional louver blades Spec. Blade dimensions: width 812.8 mm; height 660.4 mm; louver Blade Pre-test After-test sample number value value Difference Number of 1 139.70 131.50 −8.2 blades: 6 2 214.50 207.50 −7 Blade 3 293.00 284.30 −8.7 length: 4 370.50 364.20 −6.3 710 mm 5 444.50 435.50 −9 6 521.00 512.50 −8.5 Note Testing temperature: 57° C. Time: 24 hours Value: distance measured between bottom of louver frame and center of blade when the blade is disposed in an open state (unit: mm) Difference: negative value indicates downward bending, and positive value indicates upward bending

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a louver blade with enhanced weather endurance and structural strength.

According to the present invention, there is provided a louver blade that comprises a blade body and a reinforcing member. The blade body is made of a plastic material, and extends along a first axis. The blade body includes a first end portion, and a second end portion opposite to the first end portion along the first axis, and is provided with two pivot connecting portions. Each of the pivot connecting portions is disposed on the first axis at a corresponding one of the first and second end portions, and is adapted for pivotal connection with a louver frame.

The reinforcing member is made of a metal material, is embedded in the blade body, has an H-shaped cross section, and includes an interconnecting beam and two reinforcing beams. The interconnecting beam extends along a second axis parallel to the first axis, and the two reinforcing beams are opposite to each other relative to the second axis, extend parallel to the second axis, and are interconnected by the interconnecting beam so as to form the H-shaped cross section with the interconnecting beam.

Each of the pivot connecting portions of the blade body is disposed adjacent to the interconnecting beam and between the reinforcing beams, and a length of the blade body between the first and second end portions along the first axis is not smaller than a length of the interconnecting beam of the reinforcing member along the second axis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view for illustrating how to install the preferred embodiment of a louver blade according to the present invention to a louver frame;

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the preferred embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a side view of a reinforcing member of the preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the preferred embodiment of a louver blade according to the present invention is adapted to be mounted between opposite interior sides of a louver frame 100 through a pair of pivot connecting members 110 of the louver frame 100. The louver blade includes a blade body 10 and a reinforcing member 20 embedded in the blade body 10. The blade body 10 is made of a plastic material, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), whereas the reinforcing member 20 is made of a metal material, e.g., an aluminum material.

The blade body 10 has an elongated oval shaped cross section, and extends along a first axis (L1). The blade body 10 includes a first end portion 11 and a second end portion 12, and is provided with two pivot connecting portions 13. The second end portion 12 is opposite to the first end portion 11 along the first axis (L1). Each of the pivot connecting portions 13 is disposed on the first axis (L1) and is provided at a corresponding one of the first and second end portions 11, 12 to pivotally connect with the pivot connecting members 110 of the louver frame 100.

With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, in this embodiment, each of the pivot connecting members 110 of the louver frame 100 is in the form of a protrusion, and each of the pivot connecting portions 13 of the blade body 10 is a groove formed in the corresponding one of the first and second end portions 11, 12, capable of engaging the pivot connecting members 110 so as to pivotally connect the louver blade to the louver frame 100. In addition, each of the pivot connecting portions 13 has a diameter ranging between 3.0 mm and 3.5 mm.

Moreover, the blade body 10 has two surfaces 14 and two end portions 15. The two surfaces 14 are opposite to each other in a first transverse direction perpendicular to the first axis (L1), and the two end portions 15 are opposite to each other in a second transverse direction perpendicular to the first transverse direction and the first axis (L1). The surfaces 14 of the blade body 10 join together at the end portions 15, which are rounded in this embodiment. A maximum distance (T) between the surfaces 14 of the blade body 10 ranges between 9.5 mm and 11.68 mm, and a maximum distance (W) between the end portions 15 of the blade body 10 ranges between 88.9 mm and 114.3 mm.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the reinforcing member 20 has an H-shaped cross section, and includes an interconnecting beam 21 and two reinforcing beams 22. The interconnecting beam 21 extends along a second axis (L2) parallel to the first axis (L1), and the two reinforcing beams 22 are opposite to each other relative to the second axis (L2), extend parallel to the second axis (L2), and are interconnected by the interconnecting beam 21, thereby forming the H-shaped cross section with the interconnecting beam 21. Each of the pivot connecting portions 13 is disposed adjacent to the interconnecting beam 21 and between the reinforcing beams 22. Thereby, the reinforcing member 20 is eccentrically embedded in the blade body 10.

Referring to FIG. 2, a length (l) of the blade body 10 between the first and second end portions 11, 12 along the first axis (L1) is not smaller than a length of the interconnecting beam 21 of the reinforcing member 20 along the second axis (L2). In this embodiment, the length (l) of the blade body 10 ranges between 101.6 mm and 914.4 mm.

The interconnecting beam 21 has two opposite surfaces 211, 212, which extend parallel to the second axis (L2) and interpose the second axis (L2) therebetween, and each of which is connected between the reinforcing beams 22. The surface 211 of the interconnecting beam 21 is adjacent to the pivot connecting portions 13.

In this embodiment, a distance (d) between the first axis (L1) and the second axis (L2) ranges between 2.5 mm and 4.5 mm. A distance (t1) between the opposite surfaces 211, 212 of the interconnecting beam 21 ranges between 1.2 mm and 2.5 mm, and is 2 mm in this embodiment. A distance (h) between the reinforcing beams 22 in a third transverse direction perpendicular to the second axis (L2) (i.e., the same direction as the first transverse direction) ranges between 3.5 mm and 4.8 mm, and is 4.3±0.2 mm in this embodiment.

The reinforcing beams 22 are respectively disposed adjacent to the surfaces 14 of the blade body 10, and each has two opposite edges 221, 222 and opposite inner and outer sides 223, 224. The two opposite edges 221, 222 extend parallel to the second axis (L2), and interpose the interconnecting beam 21. The interconnecting beam 21 interconnects the inner sides 223 of the reinforcing beams 22. A distance (w1) between the two opposite edges 221, 222 of each of the reinforcing beams 22 ranges between 9.5 mm and 11.5 mm, and is 10.5±0.2 mm in this embodiment. A distance (t2) between the inner and outer sides 223, 224 of each of the reinforcing beams 22 ranges between 0.5 mm and 1.5 mm, and is 0.8 mm in this embodiment.

To fabricate the louver blade, an aluminum material is first used to fabricate the reinforcing member 10, and then a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material is extruded to enclose the reinforcing member 20. Once the PVC material has cooled down into solid form, the blade body 10 is formed with the reinforcing member 20 embedded therein. Next, the combination of the reinforcing member 20 and the blade body 10 is cut into a predetermined length, after which two grooves are bored in the respective first and second end portions 11, 12 of the blade body 10 to respectively serve as the pivot connecting portions 23, thereby completing the fabrication of the louver blade.

The advantages achieved by the louver blade of this invention can be summarized as follows:

-   1) The H-shaped cross section of the reinforcing member 20 has     better structural strength and flexural strength. -   2) By providing the pivot connecting portions 13 after the     reinforcing member 20 and the blade body 10 have been joined     together, it is ensured that the pivot connecting portions 13 are     accurately aligned with the first axis (L1), thereby ensuring smooth     installation of the louver blade onto a louver frame 100. -   3) According to a field test conducted on the louver blade according     to this invention with the same conditions as those applied to the     second conventional louver blade, it is evident that the present     invention has improved in heat endurance and structural strength as     a smaller deformation is experienced. The results of the field test     are shown in Table 2 as follows.

TABLE 2 Report of a field test on a louver provided with the louver blades of this invention Spec. Blade dimension: width 812.8 mm; height 660.4 mm; louver Blade Pre-test After-test sample number value value Difference Number of 1 139.70 138.50 −1.2 blades: 6 2 214.50 213.50 −1 Blade 3 293.00 291.50 −1.5 length: 4 370.50 369.20 −1.3 710 mm 5 444.50 442.90 −1.6 6 521.00 520.50 −0.5 Note Testing temperature: 57° C. Time: 24 hours Value: distance measured between bottom of louver frame and center of blade when the blade is disposed in an open state (unit: mm) Difference: negative value indicates downward bending, and positive value indicates upward bending

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A louver blade comprising: a blade body made of a plastic material, extending along a first axis, including a first end portion and a second end portion opposite to said first end portion along the first axis, and provided with two pivot connecting portions, each of said pivot connecting portions being disposed on the first axis at a corresponding one of said first and second end portions and being adapted for pivotal connection with a louver frame; and a reinforcing member made of a metal material, embedded in said blade body, having an H-shaped cross section, and including an interconnecting beam that extends along a second axis parallel to the first axis and two reinforcing beams that are opposite to each other relative to the second axis, that extend parallel to the second axis, and that are interconnected by said interconnecting beam so as to form the H-shaped cross section with said interconnecting beam; wherein each of said pivot connecting portions of said blade body is disposed adjacent to said interconnecting beam and between said reinforcing beams, a length of said blade body between said first and second end portions along the first axis being not smaller than a length of said interconnecting beam of said reinforcing member along the second axis.
 2. The louver blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein a distance between the first axis and the second axis ranges between 2.5 mm and 4.5 mm.
 3. The louver blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said pivot connecting portions is a groove formed in the corresponding one of said first and second end portions and having a diameter that ranges between 3.0 mm and 3.5 mm.
 4. The louver blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein a distance between said reinforcing beams in a transverse direction perpendicular to the second axis ranges between 3.5 mm and 4.8 mm.
 5. The louver blade as claimed in claim 4, wherein each of said reinforcing beams has two opposite edges extending parallel to the second axis and interposing said interconnecting beam; and wherein a distance between said edges of each of said reinforcing beams ranges between 9.5 mm and 11.5 mm.
 6. The louver blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein said interconnecting beam has two opposite surfaces which extend parallel to the second axis and interpose the second axis therebetween, and each of which is connected between said reinforcing beams; and wherein a distance between said opposite surfaces of said interconnecting beam ranges between 1.2 mm and 2.5 mm.
 7. The louver blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said reinforcing beams has opposite inner and outer sides, said interconnecting beam interconnecting said inner sides of said reinforcing beams; and wherein a distance between said inner and outer sides of each of said reinforcing beams ranges between 0.5 mm and 1.5 mm.
 8. The louver blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein said blade body has two surfaces opposite to each other in a first transverse direction perpendicular to the first axis, and two end portions opposite to each other in a second transverse direction perpendicular to the first transverse direction and the first axis, said surfaces of said blade body joining at said end portions; and wherein a maximum distance between said surfaces of said blade body ranges between 9.5 mm and 11.68 mm.
 9. The louver blade as claimed in claim 8, wherein a maximum distance between said end portions of said blade body ranges between 88.9 mm and 114.3 mm.
 10. The louver blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein the length of said blade boy between said first and second end portions along the first axis ranges between 101.6 mm and 914.4 mm.
 11. The louver blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein said blade body has two surfaces opposite to each other in a first transverse direction perpendicular to the first axis, and two end portions opposite to each other in a second transverse direction perpendicular to the first transverse direction and the first axis, said surfaces of said blade body joining at said end portions; and wherein said reinforcing beams are respectively disposed adjacent to said surfaces of said blade body. 